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Top Pruitt aide requested backdate to resignation letter: report

One of top advisers at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sought to change the effective date of her resignation following inquiries into her hours worked on the job, CNN reported Friday.

Senior Counsel and Associate Administrator Samantha Dravis on Tuesday reached out to EPA officials for an odd request — to move back the official date of her resignation by more than a week, from Friday to April 12, EPA sources told CNN.

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The request was timed with a letter the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent to Dravis on Monday, requesting an interview with her.

On April 13, the committee had requested interviews with five other EPA employees, but at the time was under the impression that Dravis had already left the EPA. It's unclear why Dravis's employment status would affect an interview request by the committee.

A spokesperson for the committee said that "once the committee was informed Ms. Dravis still worked for the EPA, we requested she be made available for a transcribed interview."

The spokesperson did not comment on whether Dravis accepted.

Dravis did not respond to a request for comment.

EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said Dravis's end date in no way compromises the committee's investigation.

"Samantha Dravis provided EPA a letter with April 20 as an effective date of her resignation. EPA is closing out administrative issues with her presently. This in no way affects Congressional requests for information,” said Wilcox in a statement.

Additionally, Gowdy has sought troves of documents from Pruitt, including those related to his taxpayer-funded trips to Italy and Morocco last year; the EPA’s decision to give him an around-the-clock security detail; his hiring of a private security firm in Italy for his trip there; and the official travel of Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta, the head of his security detail.